Congratulations. You bought a cheap camera online, slapped it on the wall, and now you’re the star of a reality show you didn’t sign up for. Not on Netflix, but rather on some Telegram channel run by pervs with too much time and zero ethics.

In Milan, five guys just got convicted for doing exactly this. They scanned the internet for unsecured IP cameras — you know, the ones with the username “admin” and password “1234” — and pulled thousands of hours of footage from homes, changing rooms, gyms, and swimming pools. People living their lives, completely unaware they were being streamed for entertainment.

This isn’t a hack. This is someone walking through an open front door you didn’t bother - or had no idea you need - to lock.

And the worst part? Most victims still don’t know. That’s what makes it perfect for the voyeurs. There are no cries for help, no news coverage, no digital forensics teams swooping in. Just a silent, continuous broadcast of your daily life to an audience you never imagined existed. The worst - worst - worst part? Nobody knows they are a wictim that needs to file a complaint againts these scums. your whole life gets streamed on the internet and you don’t even get the courtesy to learn about it.

You’re not paranoid. You’re just ignorant. And that ignorance is feeding an entire industry of creeps who get their kicks watching you do sit-ups or change clothes.

So here’s your checklist, straight and dirty:

• if you have a camera streaming non-stop, you might want to take it down while you are at home. There is no reason for you to have a camera surveil the place while you are in it. Can’t you do it better?
• If your camera still has the default password, change it. Right now.
• If your camera is accessible from the internet, fix that or unplug it.
• If you bought some no-name trash off AliExpress with zero updates, congratulations — you installed a vulnerability, not a camera.
• If you think you’re safe because “I have nothing to hide,” you’re not just naive, you’re part of the problem. The same device can be used to DDoS hospitals and government institutions.

Original reporting by Corriere della Sera (in Italian).